


Forgotten Treasures

by muslimsmoak



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arrow 6x01, F/M, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 12:44:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11806263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muslimsmoak/pseuds/muslimsmoak
Summary: oliver and william are trying to find their way with each other and it doesn’t help oliver when he finds will’s green arrow action figure thrown in the garbage.





	Forgotten Treasures

**Author's Note:**

> something i've been working on since sdcc weekend with that trailer. very oliver x william centric. my first time with canon oliver and with angst. don't worry, it gets happier. again, special thanks to @duckyrose09 for dealing with me through this entire process.

It was a Monday morning when Oliver found it, William’s Green Arrow action figure in the garbage. He and Will were having breakfast before they went their separate ways, Will to Star City Middle, and Oliver to City Hall. He was clearing the dishes when he saw a miniature plastic version of himself scattered amongst used napkins and discarded food.

To say his heart didn’t shatter couldn’t even begin to cover what Oliver felt in that moment. He knew things with Will and him had been tough since the explosion on Lian Yu where his son had learned that his father was the one and only Green Arrow who had saved his life a year ago and his mom’s “friend” he had met in his Central City home. He had tried to give Will some space while also showing him that he could be a father and be there for him. He had thought they had made some progress enjoying little moments together, shopping for decorations for his room, taking him to a Star City Rockets game and occasional movie nights. Then there was that one nightmare that had strained things, creating this ever present awkward tension between the two of them. Lian Yu left no one unscarred, something Oliver had been very familiar with, and now something Will was familiar with.

Oliver had come home late after another long day at City Hall. Raisa had left his apartment shortly after he walked in, but not before talking to him about how their evening had gone. After Lian Yu, Oliver had contacted Raisa after so long and hired her as a part-time housekeeper and part-time babysitter for William when he was at City Hall or out on patrol.

He was headed up the stairs to his room when he had heard noises coming from Will’s room. Since the explosion, Will was starting to match his father in terms of suffering from the occasional nightmare. He knocked on Will’s door and was met with muffled sobs and moans. He rushed into Will’s room after no reply and saw the young boy shaking under the covers. In an effort not to startle him, he gently held him by his shoulder and called out to him.

“William? Will? Will? Buddy, it’s me. You need to wake up.” Soon, Will woke startled and reoriented himself with his surroundings. He sat up on the bed and moved to the foot of the bed and raised his knees to his chest, curling into himself. Oliver moved to the edge of the bed and squatted to his eye level.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s just a dream. It’s not real.” He said.

Will pleaded, “No, it’s real, it’s what happened. The bad man… The bad man...” rocking himself back and forth.

Confused, Oliver asked, “Where do you think the bad man is?”

Slowly, Will draws his arm up and points to Oliver and says one word. “Here.”

Oliver took the forgotten figure and had hidden it away in his room after cleaning it of any waste and went on his way to City Hall. While his body was at City Hall, his mind was still in his apartment, sulking in the kitchen thinking about the discarded action figure.

\--------------------

  
Days had passed and Oliver and Will went on with their lives as best as they could. The weekend came and it was time for Samantha to have Will per their agreement so Oliver could be a part of Will’s life. Not wanting to sulk in his apartment alone, Oliver went to City Hall to catch up on some forgotten paperwork. He was sitting in his office when Quentin came in.

“You working on the weekends too?” Quentin asked, wondering why Oliver would be at City Hall on a Saturday.

“Saving the city is a full-time job,” Oliver joked and forced a smile.

“You don’t look too good, Queen,” Quentin said. “Everything alright with you and Felicity?”

“Felicity and I are good. She’s working on getting Smoak Tech running with Curtis.We’re taking things slow, it’s what’s best.” Oliver replied.

“Then, what’s troubling you?” Quentin inquired.

Adjusting himself in the chair, Oliver answered hesitantly, “It’s actually about Will.

“Everything all good with you and the kid? He adjusting well?” Quentin asked.

“He’s been having some nightmares recently… about what happened on Lian Yu….about…,” Oliver said.

“About what?” Quentin pleaded.

“Me. He had a nightmare about a “bad man” and when I asked him where the bad man was, he pointed to me. I’m the bad man. He’s having nightmares about me. His father!!! My own son is having nightmares about me and I can’t even console him!!!!” Oliver shouted, finally releasing his frustrations.

“It’s not your fault, Oliver. Chase did a number on all of us. I wouldn’t have expected your son to come out of all this unharmed, especially seeing how Chase had your boy taken before he took us. We don’t know what the kid has been through. Have you tried talking to him?” Quentin inquired.

“I’ve tried, Samantha’s tried, I even got Felicity to try and talk to him since they’ve been getting along so well. But nothing! He won’t open up.” Oliver replied.

“Sounds like someone we used to know, “Quentin remarked.

“I’m not that person anymore. I’m in a better place. Felicity, John, you, and the rest of the team have helped me and I’ve come to terms with my demons.” Oliver chided.

“That may be true, but does Will know that? Have you opened up to him? Maybe hearing his own dad might make him open up and talk about his experiences?” Quentin said.

Oliver was about to say something when Quentin spoke once more, “It’s worth a shot. I’ll see you Monday morning, Mr. Mayor. Quentin walked off and left Oliver in his office to ponder on their conversation.

\--------------------

One day, Oliver came home from City Hall early one day. He found William in the living room engrossed in a video game. He walked up to Will sitting on the couch and greeted him, “Hey, buddy. Whatcha playing there, Will?” He asked.

“Overwatch. Felicity bought it for me.” Will replied back nonchalantly, his main focus on the game in front of him.

He smiled to himself, amused that Felicity would buy Will a game with her code name in it. He was glad that Will had taken to Felicity so easily. There was something about Felicity, in who she was that had drawn Oliver in and now his son too. Remembering his intentions before he had sat down on the couch, he cleared his throat.

“Mind if I talk to you about something?” He asked.

Pausing his game, Will set the controller down and turned to face Oliver. He nodded his head to let Oliver speak again.

“Before Chase kidnapped you, he held me for a week. He tortured me for days, trying to get me to confess some secret. He had Felicity’s glasses in his hands, took them out of her apartment without her knowing. He told me that everyone I love was at play, even you. He had a picture of you, how he knew about you…

His voice starting to falter, “I don’t even know. How he found you, I don’t know. I didn’t even know where you were.”

“I have...I had a tattoo right here,” moving his arm and pointing to his left pectoral muscle, “He took a blow torch and burned it off.”

Will’s eyes widen at Oliver’s statement.

Oliver found his voice and spoke again, “I had never felt more vulnerable than I did when Chase had me. He broke me. When he let me go, I didn’t want to be the Green Arrow again anymore.

Oliver continued, “What I’m trying to say is that we all have scars, sometimes they’re physical scars, sometimes they’re mental or emotional scars. I’ve got my own share of scars, so does Felicity, John, and Thea. And bottling it all up inside doesn’t help anyone. Trust me.” Oliver released a breath he didn’t know he was holding in and looked at Will.

Seconds, maybe minutes had passed between father and son. Giving up, Oliver has started to get up off the couch and then Will spoke.

“He told me my father was a bad man. That he was a monster. That he had killed people. He just kept telling me that over and over again. And then he brought me outside of the boat and it was you standing right in front of me. You, my mom’s friend Oliver who used to visit me and hang out with and play action figures. In that moment, I was happy, happy that I finally had a dad. And then the explosion happened and I realized that the danger that comes with having you as a father.”

Oliver, teary-eyed and forcing a smile said, “I wanted to keep you away from all this. You deserved to live your life happy without the burden that comes with being my son.

“I deserved to know my father.” Will replied back.

Oliver was about to open his mouth when Will spoke first. “What happened, happened. This isn’t the way I thought I’d have my father in my life, but this is the way it is now. I just need some more time to adjust. This is all new for me.”

Chuckling, Oliver added, “This is all new to me too, buddy. But maybe we can help each other out a bit more? What do you say?”

Thinking about it for a while, Will answered back, “Sure.”

Oliver smiled and Will returned with a smile of his own.

“Hey, Oliver?” Will asked.

“Yeah, buddy?” Oliver replied.

“Can I go back to my game now?” He said.

“Sure thing, buddy,” Oliver said. Will turned back to face the tv and grabbed his controller off the coffee table that lay in front of him. Oliver continued to sit on the couch and just take in this moment. This was a step forward.

\---------------------

Being the Mayor of Star City wasn’t always an easy job, but Oliver still liked it at times. What he didn’t like was being shot at, and what he disliked even more than that was city officials and paramedics unaware of his nighttime job pleading with him to go to the hospital to get checked out properly. That was how he found himself here, at Starling General, waiting for his release papers so he could get on with his day. He was sitting on the side of the bed, watching Channel 52 News when all of a sudden, Will had ran through the door, saw Oliver, dropped his backpack and ran straight into his arms.

“Oliver!” He exclaimed.

“Hey, buddy. It’s okay. I’m okay.” He said putting his arms around the young boy and rubbing his back.

“How’d you get here, Will?” Oliver asked.

“Raisa was watching me and then Felicity had called her saying you were in the hospital. So she drove us over here to make sure you were okay.” Will replied back.

He smiled and said, “Well, I’m okay. I’m not hurt. Everything’s fine.”

“Are you sure you’re fine?” Will tilted his head up and smiled wide. “Because I did bring you something that might make you feel better. I brought it with me. It’s in my backpack.”

Chuckling, Oliver spoke, “Well, now that you mention it, my neck might be hurting a little. What’d you bring me?”

Will walked back to where he had dropped his backpack and brought it up to where Oliver was sitting. He set his backpack down on one of the seats in the hospital room and rummaged through its contents, searching for his gift. He turned to face Oliver and held the mysterious gift behind his back.

“Close your eyes.” Will pleaded. Oliver closed his eyes, amusing his son’s wishes. He felt a small weight placed on his lap.

“Open them.” Will said. Oliver opened his eyes and found himself sitting on his lap. A Green Arrow action figure, the same Green Arrow action figure Will had thrown out a few months ago, the same one that Oliver had taken out of the trash and hidden away, hoping his relationship with Will wouldn’t be as strained as it was in that moment.

“When the Green Arrow saved me last year, I’d keep this with me to feel safe. And now I’m giving it to you to keep safe.” Will explained.

Smiling wide, “Thanks, buddy. But how did you even find this?” Oliver asked with a confused look on his face.

Will looked down at the ground all. Shyly, he rubbed his hand on his neck in all too familiar manner and uttered, “I may have been snooping around your room.”

Oliver looked at him in shock. “But I didn’t mean to! I wasn’t snooping!! I mean I was snooping, but only because Felicity told me to!!” Will exclaimed.

Oliver crossed his arms and looked at his son, “And why was Felicity asking you to snoop around in my room?” He asked.

“Um… she asked me to look for the ring you told her to keep.” Will replied.

“Oh. OH.” Oliver said, processing what Will had just told Felicity. He and Felicity were taking things one step at a time. It didn’t cross his mind that they might be ready for the next step. But now, it seemed that she was. Soon enough, Oliver had formed an idea. Setting the action figure down on the hospital bed, he looked back at Will.

“Hey, buddy? How would you feel about helping me propose to Felicity?”

Will flashed a big smile, “Really, Oliver?”

He nodded, “Really.”

“Yes. I like Felicity. She’s nice and really smart and knows video games.” Will said.

“Yeah, she’s the best person,” Oliver said, his mind now on the love of his life.

In that hospital room, Oliver and Will had brainstormed on how Oliver would propose to Felicity, even enlisting the help of Raisa who had been caught up talking to an old friend of hers who worked at the hospital before finding her employer. It wasn’t for another two months that Oliver proposed to Felicity with Will’s help. And on that same day, Will had called Oliver “Dad.” To say it was the happiest day of his life was an understatement.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading. lemme know what you think. like i said, my first time with angst and canon, so constructive criticism is welcomed. but between you and me, if i ever write more, i'll stick to fluff.


End file.
